An Arabic translation of Adolf
Hitler'sMein Kampf is
being distributed by Al-Shurouq, a Ramallah based book distributor,
to East Jerusalem and territories controlled by the Palestinian
Authority (PA). According to Agence France Presse (Sept. 8), the
book, previously banned by Israel, has been allowed by the PA and is
6th on the Palestinian best-seller list. Bisan publishers in Lebanon
first published this edition in 1963 and again in 1995. The book
costs about $10. The cover shows a picture of Hitler,
a swastika, and the title in both German and Arabic. The translator,
Luis Al-Haj, wrote the following introduction:

"Hitler the soldier left behind not only a
legend stained by tragedy itself; the tragedy of a state whose dreams
were shattered, a regime whose pillars were torn down, and a
political party that was crushed. Hitler was a man of ideology who
bequeathed an ideological heritage whose decay is inconceivable. This
ideological heritage includes politics, society, science, culture,
and war as science and culture."

"The National Socialism that Hitler preached
for and whose characteristics were presented in his book My
Struggle, and whose principles he explained in his speeches
before he took power, as well as during the 13 years he spent at the
head of the German nation - this National Socialism did not die with
the death of its herald. Rather, its seeds multiplied under each
star."

"We cannot really understand the efforts of
this man without examining the principles enclosed in his book My
Struggle that the Nazis turned into the "Gospel of National
Socialism."

"This translation of the book My Struggle has never been presented to Arab speakers. It is taken from the
original text of the author, Adolf Hitler. The text was untouched by
the censor. We made a point to deliver Hitler's opinions and theories
on nationalism, regimes, and ethnicity without any changes because
they are not yet outmoded and because we, in the Arab world, still
proceed haphazardly in all three fields."